


All My Wizards: A Hufflepuff's Story

by Heartfield (Heart_Field)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Gay Male Character, Gen, Hogwarts, Hufflepuff, M/M, Magic, Relationship(s), Romance, School, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:42:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28172607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heart_Field/pseuds/Heartfield
Summary: Various stories set at Hogwarts eight(ish) years post HP and friends.Main characters include Scott (Scotty) Harper, his friends Arin Lopez and Melena Peters, and his boyfriend Mackenzie (Mac) Tamura.**Chapters are not set in chronological order.
Kudos: 1





	1. Dormitory Dreams

Chapter 1 – Dormitory Dreams

He opened his eyes, watching the chest in front of him slowly drift up and down. The hairs on the chest disappeared into shadows and reformed as dim moon light caught the chest. Scotty was on his side, watching the boy he loved, sleeping without any notice of his awoken partner. He put his arm over the boy’s chest and snuggled in closer to the warm body. No one would find them like this, unless they could remove the imperturbable charm that Mackenzie had put on his four-poster bed. With the curtains pulled back, who would want to disturb him at night, in his own house dormitory? But as a precaution, the two boys always slept together under the safety of the charm.

Scotty was a sixth-year and seemed to be reaching the limits of his growth spurt. He wasn’t necessarily short, but the other sixth-year boys were mostly taller than him. His best friend Arin, a good three inches taller, would often tousle Scotty’s chestnut brown hair as if to pity him. Besides his lack of height and his shaggy hair, Scotty often thought he had no other defining features, though he wouldn’t say that he was ugly. Mackenzie Tamura, on the other hand, was everything Scotty thought he lacked. Tall, well built, with a strong face, jet black hair that was short on the sides and came to a point in a sort of fohawk, Scotty felt weak every time he saw the boy. Mackenzie’s build lent itself to the Hufflepuff Quidditch team as a beater.

As a sixth year, Scotty was not in the same dormitory room as Mackenzie, a seventh-year. They had decided long ago that it would be much better to sleep in the seventh years’ room, as it would look more reasonable to see Scotty entering the room than for Mackenzie to enter the younger boys’ dormitory. Once a week they could sneak in together, charm the bed, and spend the evening warmed in each other’s arms. Hiding behind the charm, the two had heard some interesting conversations from other boys who thought they were alone in the room. Conversations of secret love, hidden treasures, deep hatred for professors, and sometimes even a comment or two about Scotty and Mackenzie themselves. Seventeen year old boys had more secrets to divulge than the general student body would grant them.

For now, all Scotty could hear was the soft snoring of the other boys and Mackenzie’s quiet breath. Tomorrow was Saturday, so Scotty would have to sneak out early or wait for the other boys to leave. Thankfully, most of the boys slept till noon, meaning that Scotty could still leave early enough to make it to breakfast in the Great Hall. He closed his eyes again, letting the heavy blankets of sleep cover him.

A flash of light awoke Scotty, and a voice in the distance squeaked up.

“Not that way!” It was Prof. Flitwick, now with a black smudged face and smoke billowing past him. A Hufflepuff girl sheepishly sank into her robes, scarlet faced. The feather she was supposed to make levitate was now a blackened char on her wooden desk. Snickering and quiet cheering could be heard around the room. Finally their house had made class a little exciting. In charms, Hufflepuff was paired with Gryffindor, and the fires usually came from the Gryffindors’ overzealous wand work. Scotty’s fellow Hufflepuffs usually passed their elementary charms practices without incident, which made them seem rather boring in the eyes of their Gryffindor partners.

Scotty turned to his charms partner, Arin, with a grin. “Looks like Kaskey hasn’t been doing her homework,” he snickered.

“I bet she’s too busy snogging,” Arin retorted back as they both broke into quiet laughter.

Scotty and Arin, both first year Hufflepuffs, had been inseparable since the Sorting. Scotty didn’t distinctly remember Arin on the Hogwarts Express or while riding the boats to the castle, but after they had both been sorted into Hufflepuff and sat down next to each other at the long table in the Great Hall, they had bonded as brothers. Arin had made a sarcastic remark about the Great Hall smelling better without a greasy Snape, and Scotty knew he would enjoy his next seven years with Arin.

The rest of the class had settled down, but the two boys were still laughing at their kissing joke.

“Mr. Harper, is there a joke you’d like to share with us? I do enjoy a good one.” Flitwick, sooty faced, but smiling, had appeared in front of Scotty and Arin’s desk. The boys looked at the little head hovering just above the desk, and choked down their laughs.

“Uh..no..sorry, sir,” Scotty forced out. Arin was turning red as he watched.

“And you, Mr. Lopez?” Flitwick turned to the red-faced boy, who simply shook his head. Flitwick seemed to be satisfied with this and continued making his way to the back of the classroom. The two boys guffawed as quietly as possible until the castle bells rung, releasing them from class.

The boys followed the stream of students that left the room, turned into the Charms Corridor and continued moving towards the Great Hall for lunch. The noise of chatting students and shoes on stone made a thunderous, yet joyful noise to Scotty. Cool autumn air filled the hallways as the end of October came nearer and nearer.

“The Halloween feast will be coming soon! I can’t wait to see what food they will have,” said Scotty.

“Yeah, maybe they’ll have trolls again like they did back when Potter was here. That would be so cool! A troll for every house to beat up,” said Arin lively.

“I thought it was just one troll. And that it broke in to the castle?”

“No, no! They had a troll for each house. I think to scare the students. But some of them got loose. And that’s when Potter found them, when he was in the loo.” Arin began to chuckle a little. “Just think, Potter with his pants down and fighting trolls.” Arin began laughing loudly as Scotty looked at him in confusion, though the image did stir a laugh from him, too.

“You think the house elves will come out? Maybe they can dress like goblins for Halloween.”

“Aren’t elves creepy enough?” Scotty cast his friend a worried look. The boys turned a corner and looked down on the marble stairs that fed to the Great Hall, a river of black cloaks, grey sweaters, and white collared shirts.

“What, you don’t like elves? Don’t you want one to clean your room back home?” Arin looked slightly shocked at Scotty’s aversion to elves.

“Well, yeah that would be nice…but, have you ever seen a real one before?”

“Nah, no one really has them anymore. My gran reckons her old auntie had one, though! Said she could always hear something moving around the house at night. But I think it was just a ghoul. My great-auntie was a bit batty.”

The boys descended the stairs and turned left into the Great Hall. The crowd of students began to thin out as they separated off to their respective tables. Scotty and Arin found two empty spots along the bench seats and claimed their space. Before them, as usual, plates and dishes full of food were prepared and waiting for them to devour.

Scotty dropped his bag under the table, rolled up his shirt sleeves, and began to pile vegetables and potatoes on his plate. To think, there were hoards of elves just below him, cooking and cleaning, and yet he had never seen one before. What if he woke up in the middle of the night, and there was an elf in the dormitory? What would it do to him? Was he allowed to see a Hogwarts elf? He shook the thought away and focused on the roast beef sandwiches to his left. Then a different thought came to him.

“Hey, is it true that Kaskey has a boyfriend?” Arin turned to him, cheeks full of food and shrugged his shoulders. After swallowing, he finally spoke.

“I dunno. I just heard that she’s been seen kissing a Ravenclaw boy.”

“Wow that was really fast! We’ve only been here about a month.” Scotty paused for a second, thinking how a 12 year old could get a boyfriend so fast. “Do you want one?” he blurted out, half unconsciously. Arin looked at him confused, unaware of Scotty’s thoughts.

“Do I want what? A Ravenclaw boy?” Arin chuckled. “What would I do with one of those?” He returned to his plate as Scotty looked bashfully back to his own. He had accidently let out the odd thought, and thankfully Arin didn’t seem to take it seriously. Scotty returned to his plate, but something seemed off. The edges of the plate began to turn cloudy, as if someone was taking an eraser to the images he saw. The whole Great Hall quickly became muted and blurred, and Scotty awoke to the sunshine of Saturday morning.


	2. The Fyre Fest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scotty, Arin, Mac and friends head to Hogsmeade for a fire-themed festival.

Chapter 2 – The Fyre Fest

Inside the four-poster’s curtains, the morning light created a yellow glow over Scotty and Mackenzie. Again, Scotty watched as Mackenzie’s chest slowly rose and fell; rounded mountains with two peaks and a deep valley in between. Scotty particularly liked this part of his strong boyfriend. He would often trace the outline of his partner’s pectorals, resting on the nipples or treading his fingers through the small patch of chest hair. Scotty knew he was lucky to call Mackenzie his own.

As Scotty’s fingers lingered over the soft nipples, Mackenzie began to stir. A smile crept over his mouth and his eyes opened, shining in the morning light.

“I think this is the best way to find you in the morning; playing with my favorite spot.” Scotty leaned over to quickly kiss Mackenzie’s lips.

“I think it’s the best way to wake you up.”

“Then keep doing it every morning.” Mackenzie smiled as Scotty leaned in to kiss him once more, this time on the freckle under his left eye. Scotty loved this mark for no explainable reason, except that it made Mackenzie look even more handsome to him.

“I think I’ll head out soon and get some breakfast. I haven’t heard anyone moving around,” Scotty said, motioning to the dormitory room with his head.

“Alright, I’ll see you down there in a bit.”

Scotty sat up to put his jeans and shirt back on. After dressing, he looked at the bare chest in front of him, smiled, and then quickly squeezed the sheets between Mackenzie’s legs. The boy jumped and Scotty pulled away, smirking as he slunk off the bed and between the curtains. The last thing he heard was Mackenzie’s voice saying, “You tea--” but was cut off by the imperturbable charm once the curtains closed. At least the charm worked well, he thought to himself with a smirk.

Scotty softly padded to the dormitory door in his socks, making no sound as he closed the door behind him. After changing into new clothes in his own dormitory, he walked out the common room, through the barrel passageway, and up the stairs from the cellar where he saw golden sunshine streaming in from the open oak entrance doors. The grounds gleamed with morning light and brisk air streamed through the entrance hall. Scotty found his friend Arin sitting at the Hufflepuff table, talking with two girls over breakfast.

“And you know, I think that’s really why McLangly killed Foster in the end. I mean, without a death scene the whole thing wouldn’t have had anything interesting,” said Arin, pointing his fork at the girls.

“Um, what have I just walked in to?” Scotty half expected something like this from his sometimes-bombastic best friend.

“The new drama from Castlerock. _Taming the Kneazle Within_. It’s real trash.”

“It wasn’t all _that_ bad,” Melena Peters spoke up. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in a pony tail and she looked rather energetic; a rarity for the morning.

“Luckily no one has made you an entertainment critic, or else we’d all be watching more of Castlerock,” Arin interjected.

“Not all of us have time to waste on dramas. Some of us need to study for NEWT exams,” said Melena, looking pouty. She turned to the girl next her. “Are you ready Alice? We’ve got nonverbal spells to practice.” The two girls got up from the table and walked away chatting happily.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Melena so awake in the morning before,” said Scotty. “No, wait, I think on Christmas Day in our fourth year she was actually awake for opening gifts.” The two boys laughed as Scotty reached for some toast.

“She’s got to be up to something. She would never be up this early without a reason.”

“I did hear her panicking the other day about not being able to cast a nonverbal spell without first tearing up a bit.”

“She would rather cry her way through casting spells before giving up, though.” Arin toyed with the last bits of egg on his plate. “So, you and the Beater were together last night?” ‘The Beater’ was Arin’s pet name for Mackenzie. He preferred to endow Scotty’s relationships with nicknames rather than calling them by their real names.

“Yeah, just for the night.”

“Oooh, what did you hear? Pray, do tell.” Arin loved gossiping, so much so that he could out-gossip many of the girls in Hufflepuff. Scotty was partly to thank for this.

“Hmm, Henry must have made Professor McGonagall really mad the other day. She threatened to use him as an example in Transfigurations for a whole week. Something about dungbombs in the girl’s lavatory.”

“Pfft, sounds like something Henry would do. Dungbombs.”

“I hear the dungbombs from Weasleys’ are pretty potent. You interested?” Scotty gave his friend an enticing smirk. “It is a Hogsmeade weekend after all. Do you want to head down today?” The two agreed and an hour later the boys, along with Mackenzie and two more Hufflepuff girls, left the castle gates after showing their permission slips.

“This weekend is the Fyre Frenzy isn’t it?” Carmen Brown, one of the seventh-year girls who had come along was announcing to the group. Her friend, Helen Samuels agreed with excitement.

“Yeah! There’s supposed to be all sorts of crazy stuff down at Hogsmeade! I heard you can swipe some fire whiskey from one of the vendors if no one’s looking.” She had a devious smile on her face. The two girls laughed together and egged Mackenzie to join them.

Arin leaned into Scotty as they walked ahead of the other three.

“Last I heard, Carmen and Helen were throwing jinxes at each other over something. Better watch out for those two.”

The group made their way into Hogsmeade as a festival atmosphere filled the fall air. Banners of crimson, gold, white and black laced the market place, fluttering in the breeze. Columns of fire rose from two large golden cauldrons on either side of the group, welcoming them into the festival. Vendors selling various fire-inspired foods and drinks packed the lanes, forcing festival goers to cram even tighter together as they walked up and down the busy streets. Here and there, performers breathed fire, transforming it into various animal shapes, or spun large flaming balls around their bodies, creating a mesmerizing dance of light and heat. Cheers and clapping, laughter and hubbub filled their ears. The festival’s energy took them over as they began to search for their first adventure.

The group pushed their way along the street, past vendors and performers, stopping to try a game of Exploding Snap that had been charmed to explode with different colors of fire and animated smoke. They ate their way through spicy pumpkin pasties that made smoke escape from their ears and drank down potions that caused their hair to ignite in blue flames. The group settled near an alleyway to gather themselves after the rush of games and crowds.

A witch in a tight black dress with large cuts along the side and chest, showing her chestnut brown skin approached the group from behind.

“Hello dearies, taking a rest from the festivities?” her voice was sweet and welcoming. The group, not noticing her before, looked back startled. “It’s quite the day, isn’t it? We don’t usually get this much excitement in Hogsmeade.” The group continued to watch, not sure what the woman wanted. “So much excitement and fire,” she seemed to take pleasure in saying the words, “it gets the soul rather energized, wouldn’t you say?” She looked at Mackenzie and Helen who were standing close together. “If you need a bit of rest and _relaxation_ from the festivities,” she smirked “my little abode is cozy and quiet.” She continued to lock eyes with Mackenzie and Helen. Scotty, finally understanding the situation, shoved past Helen, taking his boyfriend’s hand and clearing his thought. Mackenzie squeezed his hand back in kind, squaring his shoulders. The woman blinked, readjusted her gaze to the boys, and a new smile grew as she tilted her head, “Of course, you boys are welcome, too.”

“I think we’ll pass,” Mackenzie’s voice broke their silence and they quickly turned to join the main street.

Once the group was fully covered by the noise of the festival they burst into laughter.

“Was she just trying to sell us a place to…” Scotty’s voice trailed off. The group’s laughter grew louder.

“My god, I couldn’t ever imagine Mac and Helen together,” Carmen burst out between fits of laughter. Helen gave her a disappointed look that soon was covered up by laughter.

“No one needs to hear about this,” commented Mackenzie.

“With Arin here, everyone’ll know by tonight.” Carmen gave Arin a knowing smile and he responded with zipping his lips and smiling back to her.

“Well, after that encounter, I think it’s time for me to head to Scrivenshaft’s. I saw they have a book sale going on.” Arin pointed across the way to the quill shop where many older witches stood huddled around carts of books.

“Wait!” Carmen excitedly yelled. “A fortune teller! Let’s all go to the fortune teller together!” Everyone seemed in agreement expect Helen who shifted nervously.

“My mum had a bad fortune once. I’m not gunna do it.” The group pleaded, pulling her along to the booth.

A witch with uncountable wrinkles sat behind a small table with only divining sticks in front of her. Mackenzie mentioned to Scotty having seen this kind of divination once on a family trip to Japan. The witch’s robes were red with gold trim and seemed to have been made at least a half century ago. As young as they were, the group towered over the small woman, casting a wall of shadow over her. At first, the woman seemed not to notice them, simply staring down at her table. Arin grunted a little and the woman came to life, slowly moving her head up to meet the gaze of the group.

“Children. How nice to see you. A fortune, yes?” A sweet smile formed across her wrinkled face, appearing at a glacial speed.

“Oh yes, me first, please!” and with that Carmen sat on the rickety little stool in front of the table. The woman gathered her sticks and held them in her boney fingers.

“Please pull one of these, child. It is your fortune.”

Carmen pulled out a stick, but nothing was written on it. She showed it to the group, confused and then turned back to the woman. A crackle rose from her throat as she began to speak.

“Yes, I see. Child, you learn many things from your mistakes,” she paused and began again “today you will learn many things.” She finished with her signature, slow smile.

Carmen, confused and disappointed, left the stool and Arin sat down. Repeating the same process, Arin pulled a stick.

“Yes, child. Ask a friend to join you on your next voyage.” Arin, just as confused, gave the stool to Scotty who sat, stared at the sticks for a moment, and finally chose one.

“Oh, child. How good. Today fortune shines on you.” Scotty expected more, but she simply smiled at him. Lastly, Mackenzie sat down, quickly pulling out a stick and passing it to the old woman. She took a moment to think and then spoke.

“Life is not about having all the best cards, but how you use the cards you have.” She reached out to place her hand on Mackenzie’s. Scotty could see that his boyfriend’s initial reaction was to pull away, but Mackenzie’s arm relaxed as the woman patted his hand and returned to her previous sentinel position. The group collected themselves, the woman awkwardly paying them no attention, and walked away confused and quiet for a moment until Helen spoke up.

“Well that was all a load of bogus if you ask me.”

“Yeah, those weren’t really even fortunes,” Carmen complained.

“I don’t think these things really have much meaning. Remember Trelawney’s classes?” Mackenzie added.

“Right, well, that disappointment aside, I’m going for books,” Arin began heading in the direction of the book cart.

“Wait!” Scotty caught Arin’s arm,” Remember? You’re not supposed to go alone on your next voyage,” he said mocking the old woman’s cadence.

“Ah! How could I forget?”

“Mac, we’ll find you guys in a little bit, ok?” The two boys headed to the quill shop, leaving the Mackenzie, Carmen, and Helen behind.

The book carts were packed with older witches and the reason why soon became evident. A sign for the book sale read,

_Ignite the Fire Within_

_Sale on all romance novels_

The two looked at each other, rolled their eyes, but still craned over the shoulders of the other customers to search for any good finds.

Mackenzie, Helen, and Carmen continued their way around the festival. Soon they came across a plump man in bright robes, displaying caged creatures and other magical beasts for sale. Mackenzie took an interest in a Blast-ended Skrewt, said to be the last one in existence. Helen and Carmen were looking at a glass box that only contained smoke and a lantern inside.

“That, girls, is a Hinkypunk. Don’t you find yourself lost at night and followin’ one of these little beasties. You’ll think its guidin’ ya on your way, but then soon it’ll turn on ya and…” he clapped his large hands right in front of them causing them to jump a little, “snatch ya up in its lantern there. Little thing can scorch ya somethin’ nasty too if you’re not payin’ careful ‘nough attention.” He showed his burnt palms to the girls, and seeing that they were sufficiently taken in by his story, turned away to another customer.

“Well, I’m good to go.” Mackenzie came up next to them, looking at the glass box.

“Yeah, let’s try and get some of that fire whiskey,” Carmen looked around excitedly.

As they headed off in the direction Helen had pointed out, Mackenzie heard a small shriek, the sounds of cases and glass falling, and then felt Carmen tumbling into his back. Caught off guard, he too tumbled forward, catching himself on the cobblestone. Looking back, he saw a flustered Carmen on the ground, Helen with wand at the ready and a few knocked over cases with angry creatures inside. One glass case was broken and smoke was escaping from it. The commotion had caused passersby to gawk at the scene, but it seemed the escaping smoke and angry beasts were beginning to startle the crowd. The smoke moved as if it were animate; quickly reaching forward and picking up the lantern from the pavement. The lantern spontaneously ignited and a cackle could be heard from the vicinity of the smoke. Was it the smoke itself? Mackenzie thought. The lantern flame enlarged as a ball of fire burst out, directed at the owner of the animal stand. The plump man jumped out of the way, pulling out his wand.

“Out of the way! Go! Everyone!” the man shouted and people began pushing to create distance between them and the Hinkypunk. Another ball of flame shot down at the man who was taking cover behind some large boxes.

The smoke continued to rise above the street, a few spells shot from bystanders missing it. Another fire ball and then another flew out from the lantern, this time hitting the cages of the other beasts. Their cages caught fire, but it was clear now that most of this man’s display was fire themed creatures. Flames from within the cages along with the Hinkypunks’s attacks made for quick destruction of the beasts’ restraints as they began breaking free. Fire crabs, ashwinders, and fire salamanders ran loose across the street, igniting anything easily flammable they came into contact with. The Blast-ended Skrewt broke free of its cage and started shooting out fire from its rear end, nearly scorching a few people close to it. It bolted down the street, propelled by the commotion of the crowd.

Having found nothing of value, Arin and Scotty gave up their book search and headed inside the quill shop to browse the newest multicolor inks. From inside the shop window they began to see people running and pushing, and after that the sounds of yelling.

“What do you thinks going on? Some kind of performance?” Scotty asked his friend.

“Maybe it’s a fire duel of some sort. Let’s go check it out.”

Making their way outside, they could hear the yells were getting louder and in the distance smoke was rising. Maybe a fire had broken out, Scotty thought.

“Get out of the way!” a voice shouted from the crowd. Scotty couldn’t make out where the voice had come from but moved further into the street to see better. The crowd suddenly parted, and from the open space darted out the Blast-ended Skrewt. It ran full speed at Scotty, impacting him in the chest and knocking him hard onto the cobblestone street. His head reeled in pain as it smacked the hard stone, causing him to lose focus on the world around him. The beast, stopped for a moment in its escape, readied itself to attack. Its hind stinger rose in order to strike at Scotty. Dazed, Scotty could do nothing to defend himself as the large stinger barreled down at his chest.

“ _IMPEDIMENTA!”_

A squeaky voice from the crowd cried out and the Blast-ended Skrewt froze, the barb inches away from Scotty’s heart. A frazzled Prof. Flitwick scurried over to Scotty, and eyeing Arin, shouted to him, “Well? Help me Mr. Lopez!” The two dragged Scotty to a safe distance.

“Mr. Harper, are you ok?”

Scotty began to focus again as shapes regained their concrete lines. The pain in the back of his head continued to overwhelm him for a moment.

“I think…I think I’m ok Professor. Thank you.”

“You’re very fortune I was nearby. Now, I’ll go take care of that thing over there. Mr. Lopez, I leave your friend’s care to you.” Prof. Flitwick trudged over to the frozen beast, saying something about Hagrid under his breath.

“You sure you’re ok? You almost got impaled! Flitwick totally saved you.”

Scotty sat up and gingerly touched the back of his head. No blood, good.

“Yeah, I think I’ll be fine. Maybe my fortune _was_ right. Come on, let’s go get the others.”

The Hinkypunk had been cornered into a nearby alleyway. Enough shots from the crowd had caused it to seek out refuge. Mackenzie and two other boys younger than him slowly entered the darkened alley. He reached for his wand in his jacket, but felt nothing. He patted the area where is wand should be, but again, nothing. He looked around him frantically on the cobblestone, but to no avail. He was wandless and chasing down a Hinkypunk. Shit, he muttered under his breath. The two other boys, a fourth and fifth-year, had wands ready.

“When you see it, let loose. Don’t wait.” The two boys nodded and moved in. Pushed up against a corner, lamp at the ready, the Hinkypunk let loose a fire ball. It ricocheted off the alley walls and over the boys’ heads.

“ _Stupify!”_ the two boys shouted, but with no effect.

“No! It hates light! You need light!” Mackenzie shouted at them. Two more fire balls shot past them, one catching the arm of the fourth-year boy. He panicked and began waving his arm wildly.

“Stop! Stop it!” the fifth-year boy tried aiming his wand at the flames. “Hold steady a sec! _Aguamenti_.” A jet of water sprayed from the wand and extinguished the flames.

“Alright, try again, and use light,” Mackenzie directed them.

“Right! _Lumos Maxima! Lumos Duo!_ ” the boys shouted. Bright light filled the space and a squelched yell was heard from the direction of the Hinkypunk. As the light subsided, Mackenzie saw the creature, now solidified and propped against the alley wall. It jiggled in its solidified form. _The_ _spells must not have been strong enough to completely solidify it_ , Mackenzie thought. _If it breaks from the spell, it’ll go on terrorizing everyone. But without a proper wand, I have no way of dealing with it_. _I certainly don’t have all the best cards like the old fortune teller had said_.

Mackenzie began to take off his jacket and approach the solidified Hinkypunk. It shook violently and fell to the ground, causing the solidified shell to crack.

“I’m going to tie it up in my jacket so it can’t get away or break itself. You guys hit it again.”

As he approached, the solidified Hinkypunk jumped, catching Mackenzie’s foot off balance. With the jacket out in front of him, he fell on the creature with a loud crunch. What should have been a solid objet under him was now gone. He had crushed the Hinkypunk. He scrambled back, expecting to be attacked, but instead only saw white wisps of smoke daintily float up into the air, but unable to coalesce. The lantern remained still and unlit on the ground. For a moment it didn’t register that he had destroyed the Hinkypunk by falling on top of it. Seeing no movement from his jacket he reached out his leg and kicked the lantern into the wall, scattering glass and debris into a crumpled mess.

“We did it!” the two other boys said in disbelief. “We should totally get points for our houses!”

Mackenzie stood up cautiously, collecting his jacket and dusting out the insides. He had made good use of his cards. Maybe that lady wasn’t so wrong after all. He turned around to see the boys congratulating each other and shook their hands, thanking them for their help. He didn’t want to mention his _help_ in the destruction of the creature.

From the main street he could see figures watching, one of them Scotty. A wide smile crept across Mackenzie’s face to see Scotty safe. Scotty awkwardly speed walked to him, looking excited but exhausted.

“That was so cool! You totally killed that thing!”

“Well, the other guys did most of the work.”

“But _you_ did the final blow. A little brutish, but you got it done. Why not just use your wand?”

“Oh shit! My wand! I can’t find it!” Mackenzie quickly remembered.

“Don’t worry, I’ll find it.” Scotty pointed his wand out to the main road, “ _Accio Mac’s wand._ ” A few shouts from surprised pedestrians later, the wand came flying into Scotty’s hand.

“You’re a life saver. Scotty, what would I do without you?”

“I’m just glad you’re safe,” Scotty said. “By the way, how did all of this get started anyways?” A cry from Carmen behind them echoed in the alleyway.

“It was all my fault! I’m such a huge klutz! I fell and knocked over all the cages and probably lost Mackenzie’s wand when I pushed him over…”

“Carmen, don’t worry, these things just happen,” Arin consoled her.

“Actually, I don’t think this _was_ a coincidence. Hey, where’s Helen?” Mackenzie asked. Helen was nowhere to be seen. “When I got pushed over by you Carmen, I saw Helen behind us, but she already had her wand out. I thought she was getting ready to attack the Hinkypunk, but it went straight for the animal man, not us. And besides, if she was just reacting, then she has some sick reaction time. You don’t think she could have…” his voice trailed off.

“Wait a minute. Wait,” Carmen said. “I thought I felt something tug at my foot when I fell! I thought it was my shoe lace, but I don’t even have fucking shoe laces. I’m wearing slip-ons!” Rage seemed to boil up within her as the realization set in. “That bitch! I knew she was lying about getting over last week’s fight. Gaahh she’s such an immature little cu—”

“Aaand I think that’s a lesson learned from a mistake. Helen is obviously not a good friend,” Arin said with a smirk.

“Looks like I’m not the only one whose fortune came true today.” Mackenzie smiled to Carmen to reassure her.

“You too?!” Scotty cut it. “I was super lucky cuz Prof. Flitwick saved me from being gorged by a Blast-ended Skrewt!”

“What? Scotty, that thing ran right past me! I should have stopped it!” Mackenzie looked shocked and afraid at the thought of Scotty being harmed.

“You couldn’t have known. It’s fine, Mac. Besides, it makes for a cool story.”

“How nice for you guys, but my fortune hasn’t come true yet. Don’t go on a voyage alone,” Arin said folding his arms.

“I went with you to see the books! Just think, had I not gone, we wouldn’t have all these cool stories to tell when we get back to the castle.”

“Hm, that may be true. I guess mine was a little lackluster.” They all laughed together and walked out of the alley.

"Next, let’s go have a talk with Helen. She’s probably hiding somewhere given all the trouble she inadvertently made,” Macenzie said as they passed an angry Flitwick and the owner of the animal display. From the looks of it, the Blast-ended Skrewt had actually been a large fire crab transfigured to look like a Blast-ended Skrewt. The group laughed as their day’s story gained another level of absurdity.

They headed for the path back to the castle, recounting their stories again and devising what they would do the next time they saw Helen.


	3. The Mandrake Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mission any daring Hufflepuff must take to gain respect. Supposedly.

Chapter 3 – The Mandrake Mission

“The Mandrake Mission. You’ve _got_ to be kidding me. It’s insane!” Melena Peters, her chest-length brown hair waving wildly about as she spoke, gaped at her friend.

“It’s tradition. You know? Us Hufflepuff men are supposed to do it if we want any respect,” Scotty leaned into the lunch table as Melena and Scotty’s other confidant, Arin, followed suit, “and plus, Caleb will be doing it too. It’s kind of my chance to impress him.” Melena rolled her eyes, unimpressed. 

“When is it?” Arin’s excitement showed.

"A week from tomorrow after dark in greenhouse three,” Scotty nearly whispered.

Participating in the Mandrake Mission was completely voluntary, not to mention risky. Though it was technically against school rules, Hufflepuff prefects and Hogwarts ghosts often turned a blind eye on the yearly challenge. After all, the Fat Friar was once heard saying, "Hufflepuffs were loyal and just, but even a little flair now and then never hurt."

“It’s a ridiculous idea. You know you’ll be out before it starts. Repotting baby mandrakes without earmuffs?” Melena let out one of her trademark grumbles of exasperation; Arin always said she sounded more like an elephant growling. “You guys are nitwits if you ask me.” Melena returned to her plate to mash a few peas before giving up on them.

“So Scotty, are you really doing this just to get close to Caleb?” Arin chimed in.

“How else am I supposed to talk to a fifth-year? He’s two years above me, we have no classes together, and he doesn’t even acknowledge I exist in the common room.”

“Risking your life just to get a boy to notice you. How romantic,” Melena grumbled again.

“Oh it’s only blacking out for a few minutes! Besides, he’ll wake up later if he faints. Which he won’t.” Arin gave Scotty a reassuring wink.

“Thanks for the support, but I’m actually a little nervous. I remember repotting the mandrakes last year in Herbology and nearly fainting even with the earmuffs on. I hope I’m not as big of a whip this year.”

The school bells chimed through the Great Hall and students began picking up their scattered school materials. Voices filtered out into the entrance hall and away to classrooms throughout Hogwarts.

A week of classes and activities flew by and Scotty found himself outside greenhouse three with a small group of other Hufflepuffs brave enough, or either stupid enough, to take on the challenge. A few spectators, including Arin and Melena, a beater from the quidditch team, two fifth-year girls, and one Ravenclaw boy, mingled with the challengers.

“There’s Caleb!” Arin pointed out, and Scotty quickly turned to see the tall, blonde haired boy stride over to the group.

“Sorry to be late,” Caleb hoarsely whispered to the group, “had to sneak past Peeves on my way out.”

Another fifth-year boy spoke up, “I think we’re all accounted for, let’s head in. Everyone who’s not doing the mission, earmuffs at the ready.”

Arin and Melena gave Scotty a thumbs up and donned their earmuffs. The students filtered into the dark greenhouse, making their way down long paths between tables of potted baby Mandrakes. Scotty could hear leaves rustle here and there as the mandrakes shifted in their pots. Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead, but whether it was from the humidity of the greenhouse or from his nervousness, he wasn’t sure.

The lead boy stopped and everyone settled around their respective pots. Scotty looked down at the pot with leaves poking out from the top. The plant looked helpless and dainty. Next to it was an empty pot except for the dirt needed to repot the mandrake. Scotty scanned nervously around the room to see if the other contestants seemed as tense him. He made eye contact with the quidditch team beater, a burly fourth-year boy, and immediately looked away in embarrassment. That guy surely passed the first time he did the mission.

“On the count of three,” the lead boy hissed across the room, “One – two – thr–” A shriek from an uprooted mandrake pierced the room before Scotty could brace himself. One of the contestants had already pulled up their mandrake and was frantically trying to throw it into his pot. Scotty looked back at his own pot before falling to the floor, having not even touched it.

When he came to, the warm light of the Hufflepuff common room filled his eyes. The windows were still dark, but the soft pelting of rain outside told him that a few hours had passed since the mission. He lie on one of the sofas while Arin dozed, leaning against it. From the sounds of it, the common room was empty, all the better to save him from his embarrassment. He hadn’t even touched his mandrake before fainting. What kind of a reputation would he get from this? The others would probably taunt him forever and he wouldn’t be able to get near Caleb at all.

Scotty continued to lie on the sofa, wallowing in embarrassment until a waterfall of long, dark brown hair began to fall from over the back of the sofa.

“You’re awake, I see.” Melena stood hovering over top of him.

Scotty waved away the streams of long hair and looked up at her grumpily. “I didn’t even touch the pot,” was all he could muster.

“I told you it was ridiculous.” Scotty groaned and turned away from her. Melena’s voice softened, “But it’s not really you’re fault. Perkins pulled his mandrake before the count was over. He’s always been too hasty. In a nice stroke of karma, he went down before he could properly pot it.” Scotty could hear Melena give a soft chuckle to herself.

“What about Caleb?” Scotty turned back to her.

“Oh. Caleb? He finished his pot fine, but fell over soon after. One of the fifth-year girls threw some earmuffs on him and he walked away unscathed.”

“Did he…see me?” he asked sheepishly.

Melena looked down at him with a hint of pity. “No, I don’t think he noticed. He seemed a bit too caught up in his own success.” Her gaze faded and switched to something like forced happiness. “Well, now that that’s over, we can move on. It’s pretty late, so we had better get to bed.” She threw Scotty one more smile and headed in the direction of the girls dormitory.

Scotty rolled onto his side to wake Arin, who was still asleep next to the sofa.

“Oi, I’m going to bed. You comin’?”

Arin shifted awake and rubbed his neck. “Hm? Oh, yeah. You feeling ok?”

Scotty grunted and left the sofa, Arin following behind him. Hopefully word would not spread in the morning of his embarrassingly quick demise at the mission.

“Nice try last night.” Scotty had bumped into the quidditch beater from last night as he left the third-year boys’ room. _Great, first thing in the morning and I’m already hearing it_ , Scotty thought.

“Um, yeah. Not my best performance, I guess.” He couldn’t make eye contact in his shame. The burly boy was obviously here to make matters worse. The boy laughed a little, but to Scotty’s surprise, it was warm and not jeering.

“Don’t worry, most people faint when they try it. That’s why we’ve gotta wear earmuffs.” He winked and tapped his imaginary earmuffs.

Scotty could feel himself lighten up slightly from moments ago. “Thanks, yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Mackenzie, by the way.” The boy raised one of his large hands like he was waving. “But everyone just calls me Mac. I don’t think we’ve spoken much before, being different years and all.”

“Sc – Scotty. And no, I’ve only seen you play at quidditch matches.”

“Ah, yeah, a beater. Gotta lend myself to something useful.” He jokingly slapped his large chest. “Well, I better get going. Breakfast soon.” He continued down the hall and out into the common room.

“What was that about?” Arin had appeared behind Scotty, catching him off guard.

“Not sure. Just a nice guy, I guess.”

“Mhmm.” Arin looked at Scotty with disbelief. “If anything happens, you’d better tell me.” He moved past a confused Scotty and disappeared into the common room as well.

In their History of Magic class, under the drone of Prof. Binns, Scotty and Arin began to devise the next plan of attack for the Mandrake Mission.

“You just have to get stronger. Like listen to some banshee opera or something,” Arin said.

“Is that even a thing? Banshee opera?” Scotty looked at his friend incredulously. He shrugged his shoulders. “Anyways, I’m going to do it again. And this time I’ll be prepared. _And_ Caleb will know that I successfully finished it this time.” Arin shifted uncomfortably.

“Right, cuz you’re doing this for him.”

“Well, not only for him. But yeah.”

Arin returned to his parchment and began scribbling something that looked like a baby mandrake, but the eyes seemed to bulge from its head.

“By the way,” Scotty continued, “do you know much about that fourth-year Mackenzie guy?”

“The one who was talking to you today? Yeah, Mackenzie Tamura. He’s the team’s beater. Though that’s kinda obvious from his muscles.”

“He seemed like a nice enough guy. He was there last night, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah. Apparently he did the mission last year on his first try, and didn’t even faint.”

“Of course he did.” Scotty looked sour. “Anyways, he was nice enough not to make fun of me this morning.”

"You’re doing the mission again tonight, right?”

“Yep. And I’ll definitely make it through.

Again, a small group of students huddled inside greenhouse three, albeit a smaller group than the night before. The spectators only included Arin, Caleb and his entourage of two girls, but Scotty was confident in the fact that Caleb would acknowledge his presence tonight. The lead boy from last night began counting. _Alright, this is your time to shine Scotty,_ he thought to himself.

One – _just pull it out and shove it in the pot_

Two – _don’t think, just do_

Three!

Scotty closed his eyes and tugged hard at the base of the plant as an ugly, screeching baby-like mandrake shot out from the soil. Eyes closed, Scotty aimed for the new pot as mandrake screams filled his head. His thoughts were already getting cloudy. He felt resistance and opened his eyes to see the mandrake holding on to the rim of its old pot. Scotty tugged against the mandrake’s hold, panicking as his thoughts became less and less cohesive. He used what control he had left of his body to pull the mandrake back one last time, but instead caused the pot to topple over, spilling soil and dragon dung compost all over the table and onto him. He let go of the mandrake as it began flailing about on the table. As Scotty’s sight went black for a second time, he could see a frantic Arin rushing to his aide.

The scent of dragon dung was what first shocked him. The second was seeing Arin and Melena over him in the greenhouse.

“It’s over isn’t it?” Scotty said in disappointment. “And I made myself look like a huge idiot in front of Caleb.”

“You put on a show, that’s for sure,” Arin said.

Scotty looked around and noticed the greenhouse had already been cleaned up and the mandrakes were happily replanted in their new pots.

“Arin, did you clean all of this up for me?”

“Someone had to,” he smirked, “and besides, I had a few hours to kill before going to get Melena.” Melena gave a half-hearted smile of confirmation.

"I brought you some fresh clothes. We thought you wouldn’t want to go back to the common room smelling like compost.” She handed Scotty a bag with his own clothes inside.

“You guys, let’s not talk about this for a while. I’d prefer to forget it.” Scotty took the clothes, and after redressing, made his way back to the Hufflepuff common room with his friends.

No one seemed to notice the three as they entered the common room and made their ways to their respective dormitories. A voice broke through the chatter of the common room.

“Oh look, there’s dung boy now. He couldn’t last a second last night and tonight he couldn’t even get the mandrake out without spilling shit all over himself!” A group of girls began laughing and a pit began to form in Scotty’s stomach. He knew that voice. It was Caleb’s. He hung his head and tried to continue unnoticed to the dormitory door.

“What, dung boy can’t even face his shitty reality, either?” More laughs from Caleb’s group. “I told your friends they had better find someone new to hang out with or else they’d look just as dumb. Now they’re just as smelly.” The group laughed louder. Scotty quickly looked up at Arin and then over to Melena, who both returned sorrowful glances. Just then, another voice spoke up from the crowd.

“Wait, Caleb, didn’t you almost faint last night, too? If Stellena hadn’t brought you a pair of earmuffs, you wouldn’t have made it either.” Mackenzie was at one of the large study tables with other quidditch team members who were jeering at Caleb.

“At least I could finish it all in one go.”

“Maybe, but it _did_ take till your fifth year to try.” A low _oooh_ encompassed the common room. Caleb looked flustered as his face grew red. He drew himself up to look as tall as possible.

“Who do you think you’re talking to fourth-year?” Caleb took a few strides towards Mackenzie. Mackenzie stood up from his chair, clearly showing his beater’s build to Caleb.

“A stuck-up fifth-year.” The room was completely quiet except for the few uninterested animate plants as they rustled about in their pots. The two boys locked eyes for what seemed like eternity to Scotty, but he watched as Caleb backed down and signaled to his group of friends to leave the common room. Mackenzie sat back down, giving Scotty a nod and returned to his work.

Back in their room, Arin sat down on Scotty’s bed.

“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you about Caleb. You seemed to like him so Melena and I thought you wouldn’t believe us. He said some awful things last night after you blacked out.”

“I’m such an idiot. I thought he was a good person. And cool. And handsome. But he’s just a jerk!”

“Some pureblood families are still like that. Stuck up and willing to kick you when you’re down.”

“I’m not mad at you or Melena. You’re right. I probably wouldn’t have listened about Caleb. And actually, I should thank you. You guys are really good friends, with cleaning up and sticking around me and all.”

“Ha. You think this has been much of a challenge for us? No way, man. You would have to do some serious stuff to make us second guess being your friend.”

Scotty hugged his close friend, more like brother.

“And uhhh, what was with Mackenzie sticking up for you?” Arin asked. “You two aren’t, like…?”

“What?! No! God no. He talked to me for the first time today. I don’t even know if he is, you know…” Scotty broke off. Arin mouthed the word _gay_ silently and smirked.

“Well, whatever the reason, that was really nice of him. And kinda badass how he just stood up to Caleb and flexed his muscles.”

“Yeah, it kinda was.” Scotty smiled to himself.

The next day was Saturday, which meant that Scotty was free to do as he pleased. With two nights of embarrassment, hiding away from the others seemed like a good plan. After breakfast with Arin and Melena, Scotty made his way to the Astronomy Tower with book in hand. Scotty always enjoyed the peace and quiet of the Astronomy Tower during the day time hours and the perfect views of the entire castle grounds. There, he would spend hours reading and taking in the beautiful scenery, perfect for hiding away from others.

Scotty walked up the spiraling steps to the open chamber of the tower. A sound caught his attention as he was about to reach the landing. Something like paper moving. He poked his head up and could see that his secret reading spot was no longer secret. But who had found his secret place surprised him even more. Sitting near one of the open windows was Mackenzie Tamura, reading something and scribbling notes. He looked up to see Scotty’s head clear the landing.

“Um, sorry, can I help you with something?” he said.

“I, uh, no. Sorry. I just come up here to get away and read every now and then.” Scotty didn’t know what to say to the older boy.

“Looks like you and me both. Normally I have practice on weekends, but today was cancelled.”

“Oh,” was all Scotty could think of. He stayed at the landing, not knowing if he should just turn back or continue into the room. Mackenzie saw his hesitance and raised an eyebrow.

“It’s alright, you can come in. It’s not my room.”

Scotty found a spot near another open window on the other side of the room.

“What do you read?” Mackenzie asked.

“All sorts. I like Bagwich and Hemling’s novels. Sometimes Ubadu’s non-fiction is good.”

“You like Hemling? Ugh, his dialogue is awful. But Bagwich is good. I haven’t really read Ubadu before.”

“What are you reading?” Scotty gestured to the book on Mackenzie’s lap and the notes.

“Oh this? Just some notes I’m taking on quidditch plays. Might be helpful for future matches.”

“You’re a pretty good beater. I was at the match where you hit the bludger straight into that Slytherin’s stomach and he puked all over the field. It was gross but kinda cool.” The two of them laughed at the memory.

An awkward silence fell between them and Scotty turned to his book. The sounds of Mackenzie’s quill on parchment, bird calls, and the afternoon breeze filled the space. After a while, Scotty took a breath and launched himself into conversation.

“You know, um, thanks for stopping Caleb last night.”

Mackenzie looked up from his notes. “He’s a prick.” His face hardened at the mention of Caleb.

“I know that now. But even he could get the mission done. I’ve tried twice and can’t even get the dumb thing out of the pot properly.”

“I messed up a lot in Herbology when I was a second year. Actually, my earmuffs slipped off one time and I fainted in class.”

“Huh, I wouldn’t have imagined you as the messing up type.” Mackenzie gave Scotty a confused look. “I mean, you got your mission done the first time you tried and didn’t even faint.”

“Ah, that. It’s Scotty, right? Can I tell you something, Scotty?” He leaned forward as if to tell a secret. “That’s actually not true.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah, everyone thinks I did it on my first try, but that was actually my third. My first and second tries I did alone. No one was there to see me fail, or in the off chance that I did, succeed. By the time it came around to do the mission in front of everyone, I had already tried it twice and knew what to do. So everyone just thinks I did it in my first shot. Though, to tell the truth, I don’t correct anyone either.” He winked and Scotty could feel something warm inside him spring up. For the moment he was being noticed, was being included in on this secret, but was also being uplifted.

“So really, Scotty, you could try it one more time and still have the same track record as me.”

Scotty paused for a while to think about it. One last time could get him what he wanted, the satisfaction of finally passing the test, and something to shove in Caleb’s face. He could imagine celebrating with Arin and Melena and maybe even Mackenzie afterwards. His motivation now wasn’t to get the attention of some jerk, but to prove to himself that he had the gumption and motivation to power through and succeed.

“You’re right. I’m gunna do it one more time tonight. My last chance! Thanks for the pep talk Mackenzie. And if you want, you could come to make sure it really happens.” Scotty stood up and began to make his way towards the spiral staircase down the tower.

“Of course I’ll go. I’ll be happy to spread the word of your success. And call me Mac. Everyone else does.”

“Oh right, Mac.”

“And can I give you one last piece of advice?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Tickle the shortest leaf. That’ll help keep your mandrake from being so cranky.” Mackenzie smiled again and Scotty felt the warmth spread further. He noticed the small freckle under Mackenzie’s left eye and thought it made him look distinct and even added to his charm. Mackenzie must have noticed Scotty staring as he made him a questioning face. He broke away from Mackenzie’s face and smiled back.

“Thanks for the advice. How is 8:30 tonight at the greenhouse?”

“Perfect. I’ll see you then.”

Scotty half ran, half skipped his way down the steps, abounding with new energy, but for what reason why, he wasn’t quite sure.

In the common room Scotty told his friends of his last ditch effort to do the Mandrake Mission. As other Hufflepuffs listened in, they too became interested in ‘dung boy’s last attempt.’ Caleb even passed the group, smirking and offering to bring soap and towels for the event. The three shot glares at him as he strode away to the fireplace.

When 8:30 came, Scotty, Arin, Melena, and a two other Hufflepuffs made their way to the greenhouse. Mackenzie stood at the front door. Scotty could feel his nerves calm slightly at the sight of him.

“You got this?” Mackenzie greeted him.

"Yeah, I think I do.”

Everyone entered the greenhouse, donned their earmuffs and circled around Scotty. He took a deep breath and nodded to Arin to start the countdown. Scotty’s hands shook as he placed them on the pot with the mandrake inside. Arin held up a finger, _one_ , and Scotty fond the shortest leaf near the base of the plant. _Two_ , he began to tickle the pale green leaf and it shook back in return. _Three_ , watching the little leaf twitch, Scotty took both hands and grasped the base of the plant, pulling quickly as the screeches began. But just as Mackenzie had said, the mandrake was not nearly as wild as the one he had pulled before. His adrenaline kicked in and he promptly threw the mandrake into the new pot. Step one, check. Step two, cover it back up. Scotty could feel the mandrake’s screams filtering through his brain again. The edges of his sight began to fade. He looked away from the Mandrake and caught a glimpse of Mackenzie. He nodded to Scotty and another burst of strength pushed him to keep going. Scotty sunk his hands into the old pot and shoveled handfuls of dirt and dung into the new pot, covering up the screaming mandrake. The screeches began to be muffled bit by bit, and with each handful the Mandrake’s power seemed to weaken. After a few more handfuls, the mandrake was fully covered and the screeches had stopped.

The room was silent until Arin and Melena threw off their earmuffs and ran to Scotty, throwing their arms around him and cheering. Scotty’s body almost buckled under the force of their hugs as he felt severely weakened. Mackenzie made his way to the small group and slapped Scotty on the back.

“I knew you could do it!” he said smiling. The others looked at Mackenzie in surprise but accepted him into their celebration. The other two Hufflepuffs cheered and clapped quietly, one of them mentioning that Scotty still smelled of dung.

As they made their way into the Hufflepuff common room, they found that Caleb and his entourage had prepared a sofa with blankets and pillows near the door with a sign that read, “Welcome Home Dung Boy.” The lively group surprised Caleb’s welcoming as he stood near the prepared sofa.

“No sofa needed tonight!” Arin shouted to the common room.

“He didn’t even faint,” Mackenzie added.

Caleb looked dumbstruck to see Scotty smiling and the others around him cheering. Others in the room began to congregate around the small group and ask how he had succeeded. When it got to the point of Scotty shoveling the dirt and dung by hand, quite a few people backed away, but he showed his now clean hands and laughed. The group cheered for him and brought over a half-empty bottle of celebratory pumpkin juice. Caleb kicked the sofa out of frustration, yelping in pain. A few people gave him strange glances but turned their attention back to the celebration.

After things had settled down, Scotty made his return to his room, still feeling weakened by the effects of the mandrake. Outside his dormitory door, he heard the hallway door from the common room close. He glanced back to see Mackenzie coming toward him.

“You did good tonight,” Mackenzie said.

“Ah, thanks. I couldn’t have done it without your advice. You actually helped me a lot today.”

“But it was your strength that got you through it, no matter what I said. You persevered through three trials and finally made it through.” Mackenzie put out his hand toward Scotty. Scotty was unsure what to do, but took Mackenzie’s strong hand and shook it. He was surprisingly gentle and warm.

“I hope we can get into some more nonsense in the future. You and me.”

Scotty smiled, “I think I’d like that.”


End file.
